Tones Behind The Tracks
Artist: Joachim Cooder
Album: Over That Road I’m Bound (Nonesuch)
The fog of time settles quickly upon the heroes of yesteryear. Uncle Dave Macon was a star of 1920s and 30s music, playing wild-spirited folk songs on banjo, which he had learned from the ordinary people of backwoods America, but today he’s a largely forgotten figure. However, Joachim Cooder has resurrected Macon’s entrancing songs, enlisting the help of guitar luminaries such as Vieux Farka Touré, son of the great Ali Farka Touré, to accompany his own gently percussive playing on the mbira (thumb piano). The result is an immersive album that transcends time and cultural boundaries.
On the eve of a British tour, Joachim tells us how he gathered up half-forgotten strands
